Have You Ever Wondered How Spearly Got It's Name? It's Simply Remarkable...

Juniper Village-The Spearly Center was named for James Luther Spearly a very special individual who truly nurtured the spirits of our residents, staff and the community at large.  Jim, died prematurely of brain cancer at the age of 44 on September 28,1994.  In his short life though he left a remarkable legacy.

Jim was both brilliant and humble with tremendous knowledge of public policy, particularly around mental health issues. Jim received his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin where he published a number of noted articles about community mental health as well as child abuse and neglect. Jim also received his law degree from the University of Texas.  After completing his studies, Jim served as legislative counsel for the Texas Senate where he rewrote the Texas Mental Health Code transforming as outdated code into one of the most progressive in the nation.  He moved to Colorado and became the Administrative Vice President for Naropa University in Boulder.  While there he co-founded Naropa’s Department of Gerontology and Long-term Care Management. He served as Co-Director of Naropa’s Gerontology Department until his death.

During that time, Dr. Spearly worked with Juniper Communities and Pinon Management to develop and implement exceptionally strong psycho-social programming at what was then known as Hillside Care Center. As part of his work at the community, Jim introduced interdisciplinary teams that equally focused on psycho-social as well as medical care. The transformation in the lives of the residents and staff was as dramatic as in any long term care community today that embraces the culture change movement.

We all live in the midst of Jim Spearly’s legacy today at Juniper Village-The Spearly Center.  We are unique individuals who are celebrated for who we are and for the beautiful fabric of a community we weave together, nurturing the spirit of life!

~Sue Pappas, NHA

The Spearly Center

Spearly Volunteers In Action

Volunteering  for an organization like The Spearly Center provides reciprocal opportunities for both residents and volunteers alike.  Spearly has a group of young volunteers that visit weekly; Dulce, Miguel, Amanda, Bianca, Dalia, Jasmine, and Sofie.  Residents truly look forward to these visits and enjoy socializing, playing games, singing along to music, and doing arts & crafts projects with them.  Volunteers benefit our residents by providing meaningful  companionships, self worth, and opportunities to meet new people.  Additionally, our volunteers receive benefits from this experience as well.  Relationship building, learning the Life Story of an older adult, and self efficacy are all experienced by our devoted volunteers.  Here at The Spearly Center, our residents truly appreciate our volunteers, and our volunteers truly appreciate our residents.

“I enjoy their visits every weekend.  I think they’re special.”

  Grace, Spearly Resident

“Seeing their smiles every Saturday morning makes it all worth it”

  Dulce, Spearly Volunteer  

“I like it when we have a big group playing cards… that’s a lot of fun!”

  Kenya, Spearly Resident   

“At the end of the day all that matters is having fun and everyone coming together as one.”

  Miguel, Spearly Volunteer

April 2015 Events in Denver, CO: Believe in Yourself

Welcome to April - the name derived from the Latin word Aperire meaning “to open”; the month when everything starts to bloom and come alive. What better time to really put forth your best efforts and see the true beauty inside than the month in which everything begins anew! Diana Ross, in the Wiz, advises “believe in yourself, right from the start. You'll have brains; you’ll have a heart; you’ll have courage to last your whole life through if you believe in yourself.” So let’s put our best foot forward, believe in ourselves and we can move mountains!

Join us for our April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center as we pull pranks on April Fool’s Day; honor Jesus Christ on Good Friday, followed by hiding Easter eggs; celebrate the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery on Passover; and celebrate mother earth on Earth Day and Arbor Day. Peruse this month’s calendar as we focus on the brain through our Daily Brain Builders, Wii tournaments and our Healthy Brain Luncheon. Plan to join us for any and all events. Also, check out our Healthy Aging Resource Library to learn more about the brain or any number of health related topics. We look forward to seeing you during this fun filled month.

Our fabulous April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

Ø  Mind, Body & Spirit: Make the Connection educational gathering for our Partners in Health Care, First Responders and family members as our guest speaker will share about how an active body, engaged mind and fulfilled spirit makes an individual complete and field questions from the audience on April 9^th at 10:00 am.

Ø  Brain Healthy Luncheon: Believe in Yourself for family and friends because eating a nutritious meal is a great way to balance the energy required to maintain an active lifestyle and a short presentation will be given by our dietary manager on April 15^th at noon.

Ø  Rock Your Brain: Sidekick Trivia Challenge for a lively competition to perk up your brain and have some fun on April 27^th at 2:30 pm.

We hope to see you at one or more of our April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center!

Luck Of The Irish

Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.  The Spearly Center welcomed The Heritage Irish Step Dancers for a grand performance, a group of traditional Irish dance students, who perform in over fifty shows annually across the Denver metro area.  Additionally, Spearly hosted Luck Of The Irish: St. Patty’s Day Celebration, complete with festive foods, Irish music, and smiles and laughter shared by all!  May you and your family have the Luck Of The Irish all year long!

Awaken Your Passion: 5th Annual Spearly Art Show

Visual Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. Creating art can improve well–being by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive ones.  The Awaken Your Passion: 5th Annual Spearly Art Show was held in the Spearly Art Studio on February 26th and was a great success! A wide variety of individual and group art pieces were on display including acrylic, watercolor and oil paintings, sketches, oil pastel pieces, and charcoal drawings. Residents, associates and family always look forward to this fun and colorful event. Several residents submitted over 100 art pieces in this year's show, and there were about 50 attendees who voted on 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winning pieces.  Additionally, some artists were on-site exhibiting their creativity in action.  Visual Arts can truly nurture the spirit of life!

Disco Fever Dance Off!

Spearly reminisced back to the 70’s for our 1^st Annual Disco Fever Dance Off party!  Residents and staff were shakin’ a tail feather to the sounds of Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, Blondie, The Trammps, Thelma Houston, and many other popular musical acts from the colorful Disco era.  Many sported afros, stylish hats and flashy 70’s funky threads as well.  Everyone enjoyed showing off their dance moves to The Electric Boogaloo, The Hustle and The Bump.  A “far out” time was had by all!  

Juniper Communities Introduces Theralink for Onsite Integrated Therapy at Juniper Village at the Spearly Center

Juniper Communities, a national owner-operator of Juniper Village senior living communities, is rolling out Theralink in all its facilities, and locally at Juniper Village at the Spearly Center. Theralink is an on-site program designed to help residents regain and maintain independence, fitness and overall wellbeing. It is being implemented through a newly established partnership between Juniper Communities and Genesis Rehab Services.

“Rehabilitation, restorative services, and fitness are vital to healthy aging and whole person wellness,” explains Lynne Katzmann, CEO and Founder of Juniper Communities. “Coordinated with other clinical services permits, Juniper will be able to provide integrated post-acute care onsite at the communities through Theralink. This is especially important for Juniper’s residents who want and need more intensive rehabilitation services in their ‘home’.”

Grant Welson, Area Director for Genesis Rehab Services states, “Juniper is taking an industry lead by creating Theralink to offer onsite therapy services where they are integrated into everyday patient care. Feedback from preliminary implementation from Juniper’s residents has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The Theralink program will provide physical, occupational, speech, and when needed respiratory therapy that is integrated into the care Juniper currently delivers. Elements of Theralink include special balance and strength training, and fall prevention programs; technology and apps that facilitate and record personal fitness training; dementia management programs that integrate cognitive and occupational therapies; cardiopulmonary management; and monthly assessment reports.